6 Nuns in Ark. Excommunicated

Six Catholic nuns have been excommunicated for heresy after refusing to give up membership in a Canadian sect whose founder claims to be possessed by the Virgin Mary, the Diocese of Little Rock announced Wednesday.

The Rev. J. Gaston Hebert, the diocese administrator, said he notified the nuns of the decision Tuesday night after they refused to recant the teachings of the Community of the Lady of All Nations, also known as the Army of Mary.

The Vatican has declared all members of the Army of Mary excommunicated. Hebert said the excommunication was the first in the diocese's 165-year history.

At a news conference, Hebert said the nuns "became entranced and deluded with a doctrine that is heretical." He said church officials removed the Eucharist - which Catholics revere as the body of Christ - from the monastery on Tuesday night.

Hebert said the sect's members believe that its 86-year-old founder, Marie Paule Giguere, is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary and that God speaks directly through her. Excommunication bars the nuns from participating in the church liturgy and receiving communion or other sacraments.

AP

Catholic Hospitals to Follow Plan B Law

Roman Catholic bishops in Connecticut have agreed to let hospital personnel give emergency contraception to all rape victims, reversing their decision days before a new state law requires it.

The church, which runs four of the state's 30 hospitals, had fought the state law requiring medical personnel to give rape victims emergency contraception, sold as Plan B, even if the women are ovulating.

Church officials had said the treatment was tantamount to abortion and had been considering legal action, but they took a step away from that position Thursday, in a joint statement by the Catholic Bishops of Connecticut and leaders of the Catholic hospitals.

The hospitals will be allowed to provide Plan B without ovulation tests "since the teaching authority of the church has not definitively resolved this matter and since there is serious doubt about how Plan B pills work," the statement reads. "To administer Plan B without an ovulation test is not an intrinsically evil act."

AP

Voter Registration Deadline

The Allegheny County Elections Division today announced that residents who wish to vote in the November 6 Municipal Election must be registered by Tuesday, October 9. Registered voters who have moved or changed their name or party affiliation must also notify the Elections Division by October 9.

In order to qualify to vote, one must be a United States citizen at least one month prior to the election, a resident of Pennsylvania and the election district at least 30 days before the election, and 18 years of age on or before the day of election.

Individuals needing to register may apply in person Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Office of the Registration Commission in Room 609 of the County Office Building located at 542 Forbes Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. The Elections Division will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on October 9 to accept hand-delivered voter registration forms.

Registration-by-mail forms may also be used to register or to change name, address or party affiliation. These forms are available at Armed Service Recruitment Centers, Area Agencies on Aging, as well as many branches of the U.S. Postal Service and state, county and municipal offices. Registration-by-mail forms must be postmarked by October 9.

Once the form is completed and returned to the Elections Division, approved applicants will receive a Voter Identification Card. Registered voters are encouraged to bring their ID cards to their assigned polling locations on Election Day.

Voter registration forms may also be obtained by visiting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s web site at www.dos.state.pa.us/voting.

VANCOUVER GRANTS EXCEPTION ON SMOKING LAW TO MUSLIMS

Why???? Because “hookah lounges provide an important cultural space for the city's Muslims” according to the story. Bars provide an important cultural space for pagans......

Canada

SHARPTON, OTHERS CHEER AS ACCUSED JENNA DEFENDANT IS RELEASED

He is believed to have instigated the attack. Now he’s treated like a hero.

AP

POLL: GIULIANI LEADS AMONG MOST SUBGROUPS

Where he doesn’t lead (married men, southerners) he is tied with Thompson. (Gallup)

Meanwhile, religious conservatives have yet to agree on a candidate. (Washington Times)

TOP THREE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES OKAY WITH PUBLIC SCHOOL READING GAY FAIRYTALE

Romney quickly blasted the candidates, saying “Not one candidate was uncomfortable with young children learning about same-sex marriage in the second grade. This is a subject that should be left to parents, not public school teachers. We need to strengthen our families by passing a federal marriage amendment and also insisting on marriage before having children. Change in Washington requires Democrats with the courage to stand up to their ultra liberal base and do what's right for our children." (FOX News)

Meanwhile, Hillary is getting a reputation for dodging tough questions. (AP)

Bishop Zubik Comes Home

The story in the press made me smile. Soon to be Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik has decided not to live in the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese's $1.5 million bishop's residence, instead opting to reside at St. Paul Seminary in East Carnegie.

For 57 years the Bishop of Pittsburgh has lived in the mansion that was donated by in 1949 by the late David I.B. McCahill.

Why is this such great news? Zubik will be able to oversee the future of the Church in this area with the formation of priests. He will be a great encourgment for young men pursuing vocations in the priesthood.

Story

Catholic Group Boycotts Miller

You know when Catholics get involved in a beer boycot things are serious!

I posted on this earlier in the week. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League urged more than 200 religious organizations to join his group in refusing to buy products from the Miller Brewing Company because of the company's sponsorship of the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco this weekend.

This all started when Miller sponsored an event that featured an obscene ad mocking the Last Supper. I decided to post a photo with very little detail in this post so you can get the idea. When questioned on it, Miller offered this lame statement:

"While Miller has supported the Folsom Street Fair for several years, we take exception to the poster the organizing committee developed this year. We understand some individuals may find the imagery offensive and we have asked the organizers to remove our logo from the poster effective immediately"
The ad is promoting the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco -- essentially a multi-city block party for homosexuals. It shows a group of men and women scantily clad, at a long table, laden with sex toys and sado-masochistic implements.
Homosexuals want to be a respected minority yet they tolerate this anti-Christian bigotry and perversion in the streets.

Internal Evangelization

I spent some time with Fr. Jim Wehner talking about evangelization. You can often hear Fr. Jim on the podcasts available through PowerBlog! on the right side of this page.

One of my concerns over the years is the lack of knowledge among Catholics. (Self included)
I can't tell you how many times I've cringed when a well meaning person tried to defend their faith without really know what they believed or why.

In this day and age any religious discussion can spiral into a heated emotional debate. The flip side is when we dismiss any differences and say "As long as you believe in Jesus, don't major in the minors". It sounds good on paper but what's major and what's minor?

Often protestants win the evangelization challenge hands down. If we as Catholics don't know our faith, how are we to live it much less share it with others? So we tend to to kneel when others kneel, mumble our way through the creed on Sunday morning and race for the door when we hear "this mass has ended...."

Yet when we are asked "Have you been born again? Are you saved?" we run for cover. This is where minors become major. NO ONE IS SAVED. Salvation is a life long PROCESS. It's not an instant event in life. If we don't understand this and our protestant brothers and sisters don't understand this, then it does not matter much who is evangelizing who if we all get it wrong.

We all posses pieces of truth. No human being has all truth, yet when you put the pieces together they become a whole. That whole is the Church. With over 2000 years of Scripture, revelation and tradition, we combine the knowledge of the earliest Christians with our faith today. Truth in it's entirety has been entrusted by Jesus to the Church he established. He prayed for our unity. For it is only when we come together as one body that the fullness of our individual Christian faith reaches it potential.

That word "evangelization" often has allot of baggage attached to it. I'm a Catholic so I can't be an evangelical. Evangelization is the responsibility of clergy. My faith is very private to me. Forget about all that. You have to know what you believe and share it once you do learn it. It's painfully clear it is the responsibility of all of us. Yet if we are to evangelize, we must start within our our parishes.

The time is now for all Catholics to spread the good news within three ever widening circles: 1) the parish itself, 2) those who are not active in a church or religious tradition, and 3) the family, neighborhoods, and workplaces in which Catholics live and carry out their lives. We can get so wrapped up in the need to spread the Gospel to the world, that we forget part of that world is where we stand.

No one in a parish can be an evangelizer if they themselves are not evangelized. Every teacher starts out as a student. Because growing in faith in Christ is a lifelong and ongoing journey, we must foster conversion and renewal for each parish member and for the parish as a whole. Then we can turn our sight to broader horizons.

How do we do this? We must be committed to ongoing formation, dialogue and study in groups and small communities, careful preparation for catechetical experiences. Not just for new Catholics, but for all.

Being a Catholic is not just something you are born in to. We must understand and accept the Catholic faith as a way of life. It's is how we choose to live our life that is the most powerful evangelization tool.

BILL CLINTON RIPS GOP OVER MOVEON.ORG COMPLAINTS

Calling it “feigned outrage.” (CNN) Meanwhile, the House joined the Senate in feigning outrage. (FOX News)

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE BECOMES HILLARY SHOW

Clearly the frontrunner. (ABC News) And most admit there’s no way to pull out of Iraq soon. (FOX News)

She didn't seem to take a stance on anything. When asked about a Cubs vs. Yankees Game she said she would root for both teams. How about Al Queda vs. USA?

DEMOCRATS ATTACH HATE CRIME LEGISLATION TO IRAQ FUNDING

Equating it, somehow, to terrorism. From the story: "We simply cannot tolerate violence against our own citizens simply because of their differences," said Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., who is sponsoring the legislation with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. "We cannot fight terror abroad and accept terror at home."

FOX News

19,000 INSURGENTS KILLED SINCE 2003

Story notes “The statistics show that 4,882 militants were killed in clashes with coalition forces this year, a 25% increase over all of last year.”

USA Today

Radio Waves

Cuz' Rocks On
Sirius Satellite Radio inks a multi-year contract extension with famed broadcaster and legendary radio personality Cousin Brucie (aka Bruce Morrow). He will continue to host "Cousin Brucie's Saturday Night Party," a show that he launched in 1958 on New York radio. He'll also host "Rockin' with the Cuz," Wednesdays from 5-9pm.

FCC To Appeal 'Fleeting Indecency' Ruling
A New York appeals court in June threw out an FCC policy that even single, fleeting expletives can make broadcasters liable for indecency enforcement, and the Justice Department has now agreed to appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court on the FCC's behalf.

Santorum Considering Run For Governor

(Hat tip to GrassrootsPa) American Spectator: Another former senator is also looking for a run at redemption. Rick Santorum is said by close advisers to be contemplating a run for Pennsylvania governor. That seat will be an open competition in 2010.

Santorum, whose base is in the western part of the Keystone State, has begun raising his profile both in Washington and in Pennsylvania, where he was scheduled to make an appearance at a state political fundraiser for the Lancaster Country GOP.

Santorum advisers were spinning the appearance as "payback" for the county efforts for him in 2006, but other Santorum insiders say folks shouldn't be fooled. "Rick is a politician. He loves the competition and the process of running. He’s getting back in and he’s young enough that a gubernatorial run would set him up for greater opportunities politically down the road," says one adviser.

Free Movie!


As always I do my best to thank my readers and this time I have a free sneak peak at a new movie for you.


Here is what it's about....
In Norway, Iowa, the game of baseball takes center stage among residents. But when the government steps in and threatens to disband the local high school due to the town's small size, a new coach (Sean Astin) must struggle to create a final season that the town will remember forever.

So do you want to see a free movie???
Theatre: Showcase Cinema Pittsburgh West
301 Park Manor Drive., Pittsburgh, PA 15205

Screening Date: 10-04-2007 Time: 7:00 PM

The movie is rated PG


All you have to do is respond here . That's it. You will get an email response. Prinit it and bring it to the screening. Seating is limited and seats are not guarenteed. When it's full, it's full so get there early.

State abortion clinic rules suspended

A high-profile court battle over a new Missouri abortion law has fixed a national spotlight on arcane health regulations in at least 28 states that critics have long argued could put abortion doctors out of business. Read More

“Bodies…The Exhibition” Dicussion TODAY

We had an interesting discussion on PowerBlog! about the exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center called “Bodies…The Exhibition”. If you missed it you can find it here. In fact it even spilled over to other blogs, one of which is The Curt Jester.

I invite you to tune in today as we take the discussion to the radio airwaves. We will be talking about it in the 5PM hour on 101.5 WORD FM. Tune in as we plan to take your calls on the topic.
If you agree or disagree, you must admit it makes you think...

Union Strength Dependent on a Non-competitive Environment

In his study ‘Labor Unions: A Corporatist Institution in a Competitive World’, Professor Michael L. Wachter of the University of Pennsylvania, chronicles the rise and fall of private sector unionism in the United States.

Wachter describes the conditions necessary for unions to thrive and how, in the absence of these factors, they languish. He traces the rise of the modern labor movement in the 1930s, its growth in post-depression America’s environment of corporatist policies—specifically President Roosevelt’s New Deal—and outlines the decline of private sector unions brought about by the re-emergence of robust competition in the nation’s economy during the latter part of the twentieth century.

Wachter’s study offers insights into how the labor climate of southwestern Pennsylvania acts as a constraint on the economy’s ability to grow and create jobs. Continue

ACTIVISTS STEAL PRESCHOOL PET BUNNY RABBIT

From the story: The fliers that were left were for protests against the Ringling Brothers Circus, which was in town Friday through Sunday, and showed a picture of a bear trying to escape beneath the bars of a cage. Listed at the bottom were People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Northwest Animal Rights Network.

Seattle Times

POLL LOOKS AT OPINIONS OF MUSLIMS AND MORMONS

Opinions of Muslims are turning negative. And interesting moment in the story, Gregory Smith, research fellow for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, “was also intrigued by the fact that about 31 percent of Americans say that Mormonism is not a Christian religion.”

Washington Times

EPISCOPAL LEADERS AGREE TO “EXERCISE RESTRAINT” IN APPROVING GAY BISHOP

Whatever that means????

From the story: "This is a 'try to keep your foot in the door' maneuvering effort," said Canon Kendall Harmon, a leading conservative from the Diocese of South Carolina. "It feels like they want to change the ground rules instead of pay the price for what they believe."

Washington Times

BUSH RIPS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL FOR ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS

Also from this story: Sarkozy, addressing the UN General Assembly for the first time since becoming president in May, said Teheran was entitled to nuclear power for civilian purposes, "but if we allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, we would incur an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world." "Weakness and renunciation do not lead to peace. They lead to war," Sarkozy declared.

Jerusalem Post

STORY CLAIMS IRANIANS OFFENDED BY TREATMENT OF THEIR LEADER

From the story: In traditions of the region, a host should be polite to a guest, no matter what he thinks of him. (Boston Globe)

Meanwhile, the House voted to tighten sanctions on Iran. (FOX News)

While Republicans rebuked the Iranian president, Democrats “also condemned Ahmadinejad but with more muted rhetoric.” (LA Times)

Marines Barred From Filming Commercial On Streets Of San Francisco

(Fox News) They're the strong and the proud, but the Marines aren't free to stand on the streets of San Francisco.

Stefanie Coyote, the executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission, the group that denied the [film] permit, was unavailable for comment Tuesday. Her office referred calls to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s press office, which did not immediately return a request for comment.

The film commission did allow the Marines' production unit to film the street without Marines. They'll be superimposed in the spot, KGO-TV reports.

Radio Waves

HD FORD
Ford Motor Co. becomes the first automaker to offer HD Radio across multiple product lines. The dealer-installed high-def radio option is now available nationwide on nearly all 2008 model year Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. Additionally, HD Radio can be installed on many earlier models from 2005, 2006 and 2007.

IN OTHER HD NEWS......
HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital said today that the 1500th HD Radio outlet has gone on the air: Clear Channel's Rock WROV-FM/Roanoke, VA. So far this year, over 500 stations have upgraded to the technology. In addition, over 700 multicast stations are now on the air.

SAD NEWS
A contractor dismantling a radio tower near the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills fell more than 100 feet to his death and was killed Monday afternoon. The Associated Press identified the victim as Dan Plants, 51, of Triadelphia, W.Va. Plants was a well-known tower climber who has done painting and other maintenance work for radio stations throughout the tri-state area for years.
The tower is one of two owned by WGBN (1150), licensed to nearby New Kensington. WGBN is owned by the Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood and is the region's first full-time gospel music station.

Supreme Court to Hear Voter ID Case

(Newsmax) -- The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether voter identification laws unfairly deter poor and minority Americans from voting, stepping into a contentious partisan issue in advance of the 2008 elections.

The justices will hear arguments early next year in a challenge to an Indiana law that requires voters to present photo ID before casting their ballots. The state has defended the law as a way to combat voter fraud.

Ironic, you have to show photo ID to get on a plane, and to even use a credit card at some stores. States will provide a photo ID for free to those who request it.

Oh Come On

It's really sad when people do things they know will offend, but they are so starved for attention they do it anyway.Such is the case in San Franciso, CA.

Organizers of San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair sponsored by Miller Brewing Co.have portrayed Christ and his disciples as half-naked homosexual sadomasochists in the event's promotional advertisement. It's a re-creation of the last supper with an array of sex toys. I've decided not to post the picture because it is really offensive.

This is so offensive that any person who is really interested in tolerance and diversity should speak out against this. I can't help but wonder how many homosexual activists will condemn this?

The main stream media was all over the story of cartoon depictions of Mohammed. Will they give this the same attention?

It's incredible Miller would sponsor this but here's the real kicker .....California taxpayers foot part of the bill for the Folsom Street Fair. The City of San Francisco sanctions the event by shutting down several city blocks and providing police for security.

The Folsom Street Fair Web site says young people are welcome: "While we don't have any age restrictions at the gates we do inform attendees of the adult oriented nature of our events."

No I'm not linking it....

Episcopal bishop to become a Roman Catholic

Yet another Episcopal bishop has announced his intention to resign from the Episcopal Church and become a Roman Catholic. Bishop Jeffrey Steenson of Rio Grande, New Mexico is expected to announce his decision.

“I believe that the Lord now calls me in this direction. It amazes me, after all of these years, what a radical journey of faith this must necessarily be. To some it seems foolish; to others disloyal; to others an abandonment,” said the bishop in a statement prepared for the House of Bishops, which was meeting in New Orleans.

“My conscience is deeply troubled,” he continued, “because I sense that the obligations of my ministry in the Episcopal Church may lead me to a place apart from scripture and tradition. I am concerned that if I do not listen to and act in accordance with conscience now, it will become harder and harder to hear God’s voice.”
He said he would ask for permission to resign as the ordinary of Rio Grande by the end of the year and hoped then to be released from his ordination vows in the Episcopal Church.

The bishop told The Living Church that the meeting of the House of Bishops at Camp Allen in the spring had a major effect on his decision. He described the March meeting as “a profoundly disturbing experience.”
“I was more than a little surprised when such a substantial majority declared the polity of the Episcopal Church to be primarily that of an autonomous and independent local church relating to the wider Anglican Communion by voluntary association,” he reportedly said in his statement. “This is not the Anglicanism in which I was formed, inspired by the Oxford Movement and the Catholic Revival in the Church of England … honestly, I did not recognize the church that this House described on that occasion.”

Bishop Steenson will be the third bishop of the Episcopal Church to become a Roman Catholic this year. Bishop Dan Herzog of Albany moved shortly after his retirement in January. Bishop Clarence C. Pope, retired Bishop of Fort Worth, returned to Roman Catholicism in August.

Judge criticized for public stand

Lawyers and Pennsylvania court experts are raising ethical questions about the appearance of a state appellate judge at a Capitol news conference yesterday on illegal immigration. Read More

KEVIN SPACEY THE LATEST CELEB TO MEET WITH CHAVEZ

Few details beyond that.

AP

JONI MITCHELL BLASTS CATHOLIC CHURCH, WAR

In an album selling at Starbucks and praised by FOX News’ Roger Friedman.

FOX News

IBD: SOROS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY

The opinion piece from Investors Business Daily looks at his manipulative tactics.

IBD

POLITICO: HILLARY CAMPAIGN HAD GQ KILL NEGATIVE STORY

By threatening to take away their access to Bill.

Politico

AHMADINEJAD SPEAKS AT COLUMBIA, RIPS THE U.S., ISRAEL

He also told the crowd “Within six months, over 4,000 Iranians lost their lives, assassinated by terrorist groups. All this carried out by the hand of one single terrorist group. Regretfully, that same terrorist group now, today, in your country, is operating under the support of the U.S. administration, working freely, distributing declarations freely, and their camps in Iraq are supported by the U.S. government."

Also from the story: Bollinger, who was strongly criticized for inviting Ahmadinejad to Columbia, had promised tough questions in his introduction to Ahmadinejad's talk, but the strident and personal nature of his attack on the president of Iran was startling. "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause. (FOX News)

The Iranian president is also getting a lot of attention for this remark: "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who's told you that we have it.” (Washington Times)

Top Republicans blasted the decision from Columbia, Democrats did not. (FOX News) Meanwhile, Obama, a graduate of Columbia, still says he’d meet with him. (CBS News) Hillary seemed to search for an answer. (Politico) Audio Despite Bollinger’s comments, Columbia University bans the ROTC. (Advocates for ROTC)

France Races to Oust Illegal Immigrants

(AP) As France races to deport 25,000 illegal immigrants by the end of the year — a quota set by President Nicolas Sarkozy — tensions are mounting and the crackdown is taking a toll.

Critics say the hunt threatens values in a nation that prides itself on being a cradle of human rights and a land of asylum. Protesters have gathered by the dozens in Paris to protect illegal aliens as police move in.

But with three months left in the year, police have caught at least 11,800 immigrants, less than half the target, so Sarkozy has ordered officials to pick up the pace. "I want numbers," Sarkozy reportedly told Brice Hortefeux, head of the Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development.

The numbers:
US Population = 300 million +
Government Estimate of Illegals = 12 million
About 4% of population

France Population = 63 million
French Government Estimate of Illegals = 200k to 400k
About 0.6% of population

Israeli Rabbis Warn Jews Not to Mix With Christian Tourists

From the story: Distrustful of missionary activity, rabbis are warning Israeli Jews not to mix with Christian pilgrims during an upcoming event that brings thousands of Christians from around the world to Jerusalem each fall.

But many Orthodox Jews are coming to the defense of the Christians, whom they see as true friends and allies of Israel and the Jewish people. While welcoming non-Jewish visitors, the Chief Rabbinate subcommittee warned that Jews "who fear for their souls should distance themselves" from the event. Read more...

TEXAS STUDY: FAITH NOT DESTROYED IN COLLEGE

UT researcher Mark Regnerus said "It's not like their faith is being challenged. Some are just not thinking about it. It's more like: 'I'll put my faith in the closet for now and take it out when I get married."'

Denver Post

MEDIA VIRTUALLY SILENT ON JACKSON’S RACIST COMMENT

After he said Obama is “acting like he’s white.” At first he pretended he didn’t remember saying it. Now he claims the paper misrepresented him.

FOX News

NY TIMES ADMITS BAD DECISION ON MOVEON.ORG

From the story: The New York Times acknowledged Sunday that a controversial advertisement attacking Gen. David Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq, was sold to a liberal activist group at a discount rate the organization was not entitled to receive, and that the paper violated its own advertising policies when it published the ad.

FOX News

COLUMBIA WELCOMES AHMADINEJAD

Saying they’d do the same for Hitler. (FOX News)

Another story notes “state and city lawmakers say they are considering withholding public funds from the school to protest its decision to invite the leader to campus.” (NY Sun)

The invite comes as this story begins “The U.S. military on Sunday accused Iran of stepping up its smuggling of advanced weapons into Iraq to kill American troops.” (USA Today)

From the Democrat loving Daily Kos: "I know I'm a Jewish lesbian and he'd probably have me killed. But still, the guy speaks some blunt truths about the Bush Administration that make me swoon..." (Daily Kos)

Priest Blasts 'Usual Suspects' For Votes Against Pro-Life Policy

The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, STL, president of Human Life International, (HLI) blasted a gang of 16 Catholic senators for their votes on an amendment to HR 2764 to overturn the Mexico City Policy instituted by President Reagan to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding overseas abortions.

"For the most part it's the usual suspects who claim to be Catholic while their consistent pro-abortion votes amount to a betrayal of the Catholic faith. We expect treachery from them," Fr. Euteneuer said. "But the great disappointment here is Robert Casey, Jr., whose late father courageously stood against the tide for life in his political party. It is disgusting to think that Casey Junior ran as a 'pro-life' candidate. He has betrayed those who voted for him on those grounds."

"At a time when these same politicians bewail America's standing in the world they vote to export death to nations that don't want it, in violation of those nations' religious traditions. They are the new 'ugly Americans' practicing imperialism at its worst," Father Euteneuer said.

The gang of 16 includes: Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Susan Collins (R- ME), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D- WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Christopher Dodd (CT-D), Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

MoveOn.org Will Pay Full Price for Discounted Ad

(CNSNews.com) - The New York Times on Sunday admitted it should not have given a liberal advocacy group a discount rate for its controversial advertisement attacking Gen. David Petraeus as "General Betray Us."

In a column entitled, "Betraying Its Own Best Interests," New York Times Public Editor (ombudsman) Clark Hoyt wrote that the newspaper, in running the MoveOn.org ad for the "standby rate" of $64,575, violated its own written standards.

The New York Times has standards?

Casino Licenses Awarded Without Full Background Checks

From the story: The Gaming Control Board is granting licenses to owners and suppliers of Pennsylvania's lucrative casino industry without complete criminal background checks because the Rendell administration blocked state police from conducting the investigations. Read more…

Student allegedly researched abortion before killing baby

Erie police said a Mercyhurst College student accused of killing her newborn researched abortion methods on her computer before she gave birth.

Teri Rhodes, 18, hid the pregnancy from friends and teammates, told a doctor two days before the birth that she didn't think she was pregnant and did Internet research on topics including "what can kill a fetus," police said.

After giving birth in her campus apartment Aug. 12, Ms. Rhodes put the newborn in a plastic bag and left it on the floor of a bathtub as she showered, according to the criminal complaint.
She was charged yesterday with homicide, abusing a corpse and concealing the death of a child.

A search of Ms. Rhodes' laptop computer found that she had done research on the Internet on topics including "what can kill a fetus," "alternative methods of ending pregnancy" and "herbal abortion techniques," the criminal complaint said.

Full Story

Wal-Mart, DEP aisles apart on Kilbuck slide fix

One year after the region's biggest landslide in nearly 40 years, the Kilbuck Wal-Mart site still creeps steadily toward the highway and likely will not be stabilized for three or four more years, a state official said Tuesday. Read More

Keystone State's gov looms large

Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell is charting an ambitious course in Pennsylvania. Think super-size, both on policy — health care, gambling, tax increases — and in personality. Read More

California could be 3rd state to ban forced RFID implants

It's rare that I like a law out of California so I thiught I'd post this. The VeriChip implantable RFID tag, made up of a microchip and an antenna encased in glass, is about the size of a grain of rice. It sounds like sci-fi, but some states are making sure their citizens will never be forced to have microchips implanted under their skin. Read More

Dozens dead in Syrian-Iranian chemical weapons experiment.

Uhhhhh...... this could be a problem. Iran has always been a thorn in our side but now the threat level has gone up yet again.

Proof of cooperation between Iran and Syria in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was brought to light Monday in a Jane's Magazine report that dozens of Iranian engineers and 15 Syrian officers were killed in a July 23 accident in Syria.

According to the report, the joint Syrian-Iranian team was attempting to mount a chemical warhead on a scud missile when the explosion occurred, spreading lethal chemical agents, including sarin nerve gas and VX gas. The factory was created specifically for the purposes of altering ballistic missiles to carry chemical payloads, the magazine report claimed. The factory was created specifically for the purposes of altering ballistic missiles to carry chemical payloads, the magazine report claimed.

While I have no way of confirming this report, Global Security.org cites Syria as having one of the most advanced chemical weapons programs in the Middle East. If the are partnering with Iran our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is only the beginning.

NJ targets Church in gay unions flap

Refusing to allow gay couples to hold civil unions in a boardwalk pavilion has cost a Methodist church group in Monmouth County, NJ its state tax exemption for the property.

The state Department of Environmental Protection on Monday stripped the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of a property tax exemption for the boardwalk pavilion because the group refuses to make it equally available to all people , a requirement for tax exemption under state law.

The pavilion is at the heart of a dispute between gay groups, who want the right to hold civil unions there, and the church group, which says the state is trying to force it to violate deeply held religious beliefs.

The Camp Meeting Association has filed a federal lawsuit against the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, saying the association's right to religious freedom would be violated by being forced to sanction same-sex unions.

On Sunday, one of two lesbian couples who are suing the association held a civil union ceremony a few hundred feet from the pavilion. Nothing like mocking marriage for good photo op......

Full Story

16 Catholic Senators Vote To Fund Abortion

Where is the outrage????

16 of the 25 Catholics in the U. S. Senate voted to overturn the "Mexico City Policy" to allow funding to overseas health clinics providing abortions. One of the 16 was freshman Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA) who ran against, and defeated, Sen. Rick Santorum as a "pro-life" candidate. This is sad news for the Democratic Party and the Church -- Bob Casey, Jr. had the opportunity to be the Catholic pro-life leader in a political party that desperately needs one. It's doubtful whether Casey, son of the legendary pro-life Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey, will ever be able to convince voters of his pro-life label again.

This amendment to HR 2764, proposed by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), passed by a margin of 53-41, setting the stage for a reversal of U.S. policy regarding aid to pro-abortion groups overseas.

The Mexico City Policy has become symbolic of the whole pro-life movement itself. It was first articulated by Ronald Reagan at the 1984 United Nations International Conference on Population in Mexico City. It requires "nongovernmental organizations to agree as a condition of their receipt of [U.S.] federal funds that such organizations would neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations."

In other words, if you want to continue taking taxpayer dollars, you can't perform abortions. It would be nice if we had the same policy in our own country.

The Mexico City Policy was rescinded in 1993 by then President Clinton within two weeks of taking office, and reinstated in 2001 by President George W. Bush on his first day in the Oval Office. After taking over the Senate last November, the Democrats have vowed to challenge the policy, which they have described as a "global gag rule."

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) led the fight against the bill. Along with three co-sponsors, including Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fl), Brownback narrowly won a bid -– by three votes -- to restore the "Kemp-Kasten Amendment" to the bill. This provision, first passed in 1985, allows the President to deny U.S. funds to any organization or program that "supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization." This means the U. S. cannot make contributions to the U. N. Population Fund, because China funds coerced abortions to control population.Woo-Hoo!

So who are the 16 who claim to be Catholic???
Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA),
Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Ted Kennedy (D-MA),
John Kerry (D-MA),
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD),
Susan Collins (R-ME),
Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
Mary Landrieu (D-LA),
Ken Salazar (D-CO),
Tom Harkin (D-IA),
Richard Durbin (D-IL),
Maria Cantwell (D-WA),
Patty Murray (D-WA),
Jack Reed (D-RI),
Christopher Dodd (CT-D),
Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

(To see the best and worst voting records of Catholic members of Congress visit the "Catholic Advocate" section of InsideCatholic.com. Click here.

Terri's Watch : Nutrition, hydration obligatory for coma patients

Providing nutrition and hydration for a comatose patient is "an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life," and is therefore "obligatory" in most circumstances, the Vatican has stated.

In a document released on September 14, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) responded to questions that had been submitted by the US bishops' conference, regarding care for patients living in a "vegetative state." Because the moral principles involved are widely applicable, the full text of the CDF response, which was approved by Pope Benedict XVI, has been posted on the Vatican web site, with translations available in several languages.

The Vatican statement is an official response to moral questions that have arisen in several high-profile medical cases, such as the case of Terri Schiavo. The CDF clearly sides with those who argued that nutrition and hydration (food and water) should not have been withdrawn from the comatose woman in that case.

CWNews.com

McCullough resigns as head of Catholic Charities

Patricia McCullough has announced her resignation as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Ms. McCullough has served in that position since March 2006, overseeing the many outreach programs of Catholic Charities. Prior to joining Catholic Charities, Ms. McCullough served as a Judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.

Catholic Charities provides leadership in mobilizing the resources of Catholic parishes and the wider community to serve the needs of families and individuals, regardless of their religious affiliation in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence and Washington counties.

Catholic Charities serves an estimated 90,000 people annually in Southwestern Pennsylvania through child-care support, counseling, refugee placement and housing for the homeless.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

TO MAKE A POINT, STATE SENATOR SUES GOD OVER WEATHER

All part of an effort to allow frivolous lawsuits to continue. No word if Morgan Freeman plans to represent God in the trial.

FOX News

BARRY MANILOW REFUSES THE VIEW OVER THEIR CONSERVATIVE HOST

He called Elisabeth Hasselbeck “dangerous and offensive.” Oh yeah, so was his song "Mandy!"

TMZ

BIG BUSINESS IN REMOVING TATOOS

As people regret their decisions. This guy can't understand why he can't get a job.

CNN

CHIQUITA FINED $25 MILLION FOR PAYMENTS TO TERRORISTS

The company claims they made the payments to protect their workers.

ABC News

EPISCOPAL CHURCH TOLD NOT TO ORDAIN GAYS

They have until the end of the month to agree.

Beliefnet

TELEGRAPH: BUSH PREPARING FOR WAR WITH IRAN

From the story: Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran. Now it has emerged that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, who has been pushing for a diplomatic solution, is prepared to settle her differences with Vice-President Dick Cheney and sanction military action.

Maybe that withdrawal the Dems want will be more of a "relocation". We are in the neighborhood....

Telegraph

Here Comes The Pope

Pope Benedict will make his first trip to the United States next spring in a visit that will likely try to heal some of the wounds caused by recent sexual abuse scandals.

The Pope will visit New York and several other cities in the East, Vatican sources said, adding that the itinerary was still being worked out.

The main purpose of the trip, expected for the second half of April or the start of May, will be to address the United Nations at the invitation of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Apart from New York, several other cities will be included....The trip will probably run for about five or six days. While a visit to Boston has not been confirmed by that archdiocese, such a stop would be significant following the priestly sexual abuse scandal centered there which forced its archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law, to resign in disgrace in 2002.

The state of American Catholicism in the wake of the scandal will likely be a major theme of the trip and offer an opportunity to heal lingering wounds.

MUSLIM CAB DRIVERS UPSET AFTER TICKETS AS THEY LEAVE THEIR CARS TO PRAY

They insist they should be able to leave their cars in the access lanes at O’Hare Airport to pray. At O'Hare??? It's only the world's busiest airport. I can't stop for 10 seconds at the airport in Pittsburgh and they want to do this in Chicago?

I guess Allah can get you 72 virgins in paradise but you are on your own in a no parking zone.

Sun Times

OJ SIMPSON HELD WITHOUT BAIL AFTER BREAK IN

From the story: Simpson was at the Clark County Detention Center on Sunday night for booking on two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit a crime and burglary with a firearm, police said. The district attorney, meanwhile, said he expected Simpson to ultimately be charged with seven felonies and one gross misdemeanor. If convicted of the booking charges, Simpson would face up to 30 years in state prison on each robbery count alone.

Hey OJ, you are really pushing your luck with the whole prison thing. This is like Michael Jackson opening a daycare center.....

AP

SALLY FIELD CUT OFF AT EMMYS DURING ANTI-WAR RANT

The best part of the Emmy's is what you didn't see. Gidget cursed on stage, while making the point that men are the cause of war. (TV Week)

Darn, I have to toss out my only Catholic lunch box!

If you really want to know what she said my sources tell me this is pretty close:
"If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any god -" Cut off were the words "god-damned wars in the first place."

Meanwhile, in other irrelavent news: Gore received an Emmy. (AP) Dose he need a lunch box?

ROMNEY: UN SHOULD BAR AHMADINEJAD

Did he say BAR or BOMB?

Story begins: Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, is sending a letter to the United Nations Secretary General tomorrow, calling for him to bar Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from addressing the General Assembly next week and instead hand him an indictment under the Genocide Convention. (NY Times)

HILLARY OFFERS $110 BILLION PER YEAR HEALTH PLAN

And plans to increase taxes in an attempt to pay for it. Nawwww, realllly? Socialized anything requires the government to be in control of your money. Pay attention to this one floks!

CBS News

Michael Mukasey To Be Attorney General

Mukasey, 66, was nominated as a federal district judge for the Southern District of New York in 1988 by Ronald Reagan, and served until September 2006 with great distinction. Mukasey, widely viewed as one of the country's top trial judges, presided over important trials including the 1995 New York City terror trial of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven co-defendants, who were convicted and received lengthy jail terms. In an unusual statement, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, upon reviewing and upholding the judge's work, noted that Mukasey had "presided with extraordinary skill and patience, assuring fairness to the prosecution and to each defendant and helpfulness to the jury. His was an outstanding achievement in the face of challenges far beyond those normally endured by a trial judge." ...

The most contentious fights over the next year are likely to be on war-on-terror issues. And as Andrew McCarthy ... explained on National Review Online, Mukasey is first-rate on these: "He deftly handled the enemy-combatant detention of Jose Padilla (recently convicted of terrorism crimes), forcefully endorsing the executive branch's wartime power to protect the United States from an al Qaeda operative dispatched to our homeland to conduct mass-murder attacks, but vindicating the American citizen's constitutional rights to counsel and to challenge his detention without trial through habeas corpus." Judging also by what Mukasey has written and said outside the courtroom about the Patriot Act and related matters, we can be confident he'll be effective at making the case before Congress and the public for tough legislation and sound policies on national security issues.

And he'll be hard to challenge when he does so. Mukasey testifying on behalf of Bush's FISA legislation will be like Petraeus testifying on the surge. He'll be an able public spokesman because he can't be caricatured as a partisan apologist, and the Democrats won't be able to lay a glove on him.

Get ready for a strong attorney general for the rest of the Bush administration.

Weekly Standard

THE DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH ON "BODIES ... THE EXHIBITION"

Beginning in October 2007 through April 2008, “Bodies…The Exhibition” will be held at the Carnegie Science Center. (In Pittsburgh, PA) The exhibit features dozens of preserved cadavers in posed positions, fetuses in various stages of development, and other body parts. The bodies were obtained by Premier Exhibitions from the Dalian Medical University in China, a leading international institution in anatomical studies.

“Bodies … The Exhibition” has raised a number of concerns, most particularly the fact that the bodies were obtained without valid and informed consent. The bodies had been unclaimed and unidentified and were obtained by Dalian Medical University from Chinese police.

Representatives of the Diocese of Pittsburgh met with those involved in the exhibit at Carnegie Science Center to discuss the issues involved. All agreed that the educational benefits of “Bodies…The Exhibition” were clear. Additionally, the location of the exhibition allows manifold opportunities for reflection and exploration of the issues involved in the display, while making an extraordinary visual presentation of the dignity and miracle of human creation.

With the assurances that the affidavits provide over the source of the bodies and fetuses, and the understanding that it is morally ethical that bodies unclaimed over a definitive period of time can be used for medical study and education, the Diocese of Pittsburgh concludes the following:

Bodies … The Exhibition” can provide worthwhile and effective opportunities to promote learning and to explore issues in the natural sciences, morality and spirituality;

“Bodies … The Exhibition” is certainly not appropriate for all audiences. Individuals in general and parents in particular must consider their own and their children’s sensitivities when determining whether or not to attend the exhibit;

The discussion generated in the public arena in anticipation of this exhibit is a valuable one that has raised serious questions about the dignity of the human person and how that dignity is expressed, protected and promoted. We applaud this public discourse on a matter so important to the fostering of a good society. We encourage continued dialogue on these important topics and welcome the opportunity to participate in them over the course of the exhibit’s stay in Pittsburgh.

Full Statement

JUDGE ACQUITS SEX OFFENDER MOMENTS AFTER JURY FINDS HIM GUILTY

The previously convicted sex offender was trying to lure a 9 year old girl into a park shelter. From the story: Judge Timothy Van Akkeren overturned the verdict after a daylong jury trial, saying the shelter was not a “secluded place” as required by state statute, said Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco.

Press Gazette

NY TIMES UNDER FIRE FOR MOVEON.ORG ANTI-PETRAEUS ADS

The paper appears to have given the group a hefty discount. (Reuters)

From Ed Koch: the Democratic candidates declined to denounce MoveOn because they fear themselves becoming the victims of a similar onslaught from the radical left. This is a cowardly position, which I hope they will rethink. It takes more than intelligence to be a good or great president. It takes integrity and courage, as well. (NY Post)

HOUSE TO VOTE ON SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR GAY EMPLOYEES

Story begins with this powerful statement: Could a Christian bookstore be forced to hire outspoken homosexual employees? If the Democratic Congress has its way, yes.

Focus on the Family

BUSH: 5700 TROOPS HOME BY CHRISTMAS

Many more home by July. (FOX News)
With good news in Iraq, Republicans have some momentum going into the 2008 elections. (Washington Times)

Catholic Church Shocks Millions

By Mark Shea

Oh my stars and garters! It turns out that, not only did the Church say a perfectly valid Mass from the time of the Reformation till now, but on top of that, the Pope is still Catholic.

That was the astonished discovery of the delightfully ignorant mainstream media when, in a shocking move, Pope Benedict XVI let the cleansing daylight of truth throw light on the minds of people who have somehow gotten it into their heads that there are two Churches, pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II.

Pope Benedict issued a motu proprio on July 7 that reaffirmed that the Mass that was said for centuries before the 1970 reform of the Mass was still a good thing, and that people should be able to celebrate it if they like.

It would appear that this was horrifying enough to professionally aggrieved people, such as this poor man profiled in the Washington Post:
“I can’t fight back the tears. This is the saddest moment in my life as a man, priest and bishop,” Luca Brandolini, a member of the liturgy commission of the Italian bishops’ conference, told Rome daily La Repubblica in an interview July 8.

“It’s a day of mourning, not just for me but for the many people who worked for the Second Vatican Council. A reform for which many people worked, with great sacrifice and only inspired by the desire to renew the Church, has now been cancelled.”

I missed the memo announcing the cancellation of Vatican II. Indeed, I could have sworn that the Pope was making a generous gesture to folks who just want to celebrate the Mass that was celebrated every day the council was being held. I got the impression somehow that these people are, like, part of the Church too.

Yet, somehow, some panicky folks have the notion that if you worship God in Latin rather than the vernacular, you are destroying the Church. How fragile we are. It’s not enough that the Paul VI Mass is celebrated in about 99.9% of the world. This small gesture of kindness to people who like the John XXIII rite spells the doom of the council and quite possibly of the Church.

There’s a jittery totalitarianism behind such sentiments, the restless, sleepless fear that not everybody everywhere is “just like me.” And there was more trauma to come. For on July 10, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a document informing us that, as a matter of fact, St. Paul wasn’t kidding when he said, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

What did the document say? Basically, it said, again, what the Church has always said: that the fullness of the revelation Christ handed down subsists in the Catholic Church. In short, the Church believes about itself what it has always believed: that it is the Church Christ founded and that other Christian bodies are right insofar as they participate in that fact and wrong when they don’t.

Of course, what the mainstream media reported was junk like “Vatican: Protestants Not True Christians” (CNN). In fact, what the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said was that Protestant congregations are not true churches but ecclesial bodies. What Rome means is, “Where there’s no valid Eucharist, there’s no Church,” because the Eucharist is what makes the Church the Church.

What Rome does not mean is “Protestants aren’t Christian. God hates Protestants. Protestants are all going to hell. Only the Catholic Church is a true Church.” The reality is that Protestants are in real, but imperfect, communion with the Church. That’s because “we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” If you are validly baptized, you are Christian even if you aren’t Catholic. And, by the way, the Church does recognize non-Catholic bodies as true Churches. (Think Orthodox, for instance.)

It’s all about the Eucharist, baby. If you’ve got a valid one, you’re a Church. If you don’t, but you still adhere to the basics of the Creed, you’re an ecclesial body. None of this stuff is news to anybody familiar with actual Catholic teaching. It’s neither a “cancellation” of Vatican II nor a “retreat from ecumenism.” It’s a precise restatement of Vatican II and of Dominus Iesus. But it’s shockingly new to the majority of Catholics and to most of the rest of the world.
Which is why the Church had to point it out — again.

Vote 'no' on present judges, groups say

In November 2005, pay raise protesters did something that had never been done before -- persuaded voters to send a message by defeating state Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro in his bid for a 10-year retention to the court. Read More

Radio Waves

Ray Tannehill passes
Sad news on the death of former KDKA-TV and then-WIIC (WPXI) anchorman Ray Tannehill. Mr. Tannehill was at his home in Santa Fe, NM when he passed away from a heart attack on 9/12 at age 73. Funeral services will be held 9/14 in Santa Fe.

AM goes HD
Not without debate, AM stations gained the power to begin broadcasting in HD after dark. Until now the 245 AM stations broadcasting in HD have had to switch back to analog at night. But the engineering community is sharply divided, and it may be months before anyone is proven right. Engineers worry the tightly-packed dial in the Northeast and Upper Midwest will face the most headaches.

Another female talk casualty - The Satellite Sistersand ABC part ways.
ABC will stop airing the weekday afternoon program on November 9th but will keep airing the Saturday show until January 5. Their exit from radio is another setback to female-targeted talk. Last month GreenStone Media closed its doors after it ran out of cash after failing to attract affiliates. Women love to talk, but apparently they don't like to hear other women talk.

Hey "The Zone"... Are You Listening???
To almost no one's surprise, CBS Radio FM Talker WYSP/Philadelphia flipped to Rock just after 5 p.m. yesterday (9/13). Morning hosts Opie & Anthony, whose syndicated show broadcast from Philly today, joined WYSP afternoon host Kidd Chris on the air a little before the flip, and Kidd Chris regular Constantine made the official announcement at 5:02, shrieking, "Finally, the rock has come back to Philadelphia!"

That was followed by a music montage that included both new rock and old, from Led Zeppelin to Papa Roach, and then the format kicked off officially with Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle."

After a jab at crosstown WMMR for having played Blondie's "Heart of Glass" this morning, WYSP played AC/DC's "Back in Black," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Metallica's "Enter Sandman," and Red Hot Chili Peppers "Californication." Reports predicting the flip in Philadelphia media said Opie & Anthony and Kidd Chris will remain in place under the new format.

If CBS is abandoning ship on FM Talk on the other side of the Keystone state, it's only a matter of time before taps is played for Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Zone.

Kathy Griffin's Unfunny Jesus Jokes

(Brent Bozell on Townhall.com) Nearly everyone with a television can make jokes about TV awards shows, especially the speech-making. How many times have people made the hoariest jokes about thanking the "little people," or mimicking Sally Field's Oscar speech: "You like me! You really like me!" But Kathy Griffin, the comedienne with the self-satirizing "My Life on the D-List" show on that D-list network Bravo, took the ritual to a new low when she won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program.

She mocked Jesus Christ.

"A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award," she declared. "I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. So, all I can say is, 'Suck it, Jesus.' This award is my god now."

MoveOn.org: Living on Borrowed Times?

(Family Research Council) It shouldn't surprise us that George Soros's MoveOn.org is taking cheap shots at the military in an anti-war ad. What should surprise us, according to today's headlines, is just how cheap those shots were. ABC news is reporting that The New York Times gave MoveOn its full-page ad, which smears a decorated Army General, for $102,000 off the going rate! As NewsBusters says, the amount Soros paid is "less than any rate listed in the New York Times schedule."

(CNSNews.com) - GOP presidential frontrunner Rudy Giuliani and a group that supports the Bush administration's policy on the Iraq war announced on Thursday that they are asking the New York Times for the "same heavily discounted rate the newspaper gave MoveOn.org" when that group ran its "General Betray Us" ad on Monday.

Giuliani told reporters in Atlanta that he considered the liberal activist group's full-page advertisement -- "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" -- to be "abominable" and said his campaign is asking the newspaper for a comparable rate for an ad to run following President Bush's Thursday night speech on Iraq.

Ex-Supreme backs bill aimed at phony goods

Mary Wilson, a founding member of the legendary Supremes singing group, testified in City Hall yesterday about the damage that counterfeiting and piracy cause to the music and entertainment industry. Read More

Grand jury investigating state House pay bonuses

Attorney William M. Sloane, chief counsel to the House Democratic caucus, drove 2,584 miles doing campaign work for the House Democratic Campaign Committee last year. Read More

Vatican Investigates American Theologian

The Vatican and U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are investigating the writings of a well-known American theologian who has analyzed how the Catholic faith relates to other religions.
The inquiry's focus is the Rev. Peter Phan, of Georgetown University, a Vietnamese-American priest from the Dallas diocese and former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

The U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine has traded correspondence with Phan since July 2005 seeking clarification on his writings, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

According a story published in the National Catholic Reporter on Wednesday, the Vatican raised concerns that Phan's 2004 book, "Being Religious Interreligiously," is "notably confused on a number of points of Catholic doctrine and also contains serious ambiguities."

The Vatican has condemned the writings of other Catholic theologians - including the Rev. Roger Haight, an American Jesuit, and the Rev. Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, a champion of liberation theology - on similar grounds.

Earlier this year, Pope Benedict XVI released a document reasserting the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, reiterating themes in the 2000 Vatican document Dominus Iesus. That document states non-Christians are "in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the church, have the fullness of the means of salvation."

The issues underpinning Phan's case are causing great debate among Catholic theologians grappling with how Catholicism relates to other faiths outside a European context, said Terrence Tilley, chairman of the theology department at Fordham University and president-elect of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

"To come to judgment as the Vatican seems to be doing so quickly, before theologians have had time to work out and critique the positions ... it's just premature," Tilley said. "It's in a sense cutting off debate before the debate's started."

Editors Note: Mr. Tilley has overlooked 2000 years of debate. It is only proper that those who claim to represent the church share her teaching and uphold her beliefs.

Transportation Funding Plan Hits Pothole

Pennsylvania’s 2007 transportation funding plan (Act 44) could be in serious trouble. The key component of the plan, tolling Interstate 80, is getting opposition from members of the U.S. House as well as from a Texas Senator who plans to introduce a bill preventing the tolling of existing, federally funded roads. If this bill is enacted, Act 44 will not be able to provide the funding needed to fix the Commonwealth’s deteriorating roads and bridges or subsidize mass transit. As a result, Governor Rendell is talking about reviving his earlier plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Continue

TRANSPORTATION BILL INCLUDES $8.5 BILLION IN PORK

Senator Tom Coburn said “"No one in America seriously believes that bike paths, peace gardens and baseball stadiums are more important national priorities than bridge and road repairs."

USA Today

FERTILITY GAP COULD HURT DEMOCRATS

As Chuck Colson notes “In a generation or two, we are going to have a bumper crop of conservative citizens. Candidates who appeal to Christians will win more elections simply because of demographics.”

Townhall

US BASE HIT BY IRANIAN ROCKET

The story begins: A fatal attack launched two days ago against the headquarters garrison of the American military in Iraq was carried out using a 240 mm rocket - a type of weapon provided to Shiite extremists by Iran, a U.S. general said Thursday. (CBS News)

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad said Israel “cannot continue its life.” (CNN)

Judge Worries About 'Pay Raise' Backlash At Polls

(KDKA) The state's top Superior Court judge is speaking out. President Judge Kate Ford Elliot is worried that some experienced judges may be tossed out because of the continuing backlash against the judicial pay raise.

"I've been a judge for 18 years, and I have never seen this kind of attention placed on the retention elections," she said. She says the public has the right to vote however they want, but: "What I would hope, though, is that the citizens will judge the records of the judges who are standing for retention this year and determine whether they have faithfully fulfilled their oath of office."

In the “uncut” version of the interview, Judge Elliot references the Oath of Office several times, but never once mentions adherence to the Pennsylvania Constitution. She talks about keeping politics out of the judiciary, but never mentions Supreme Court Chief Justice Cappy’s involvement in the infamous pay-raise debacle. The damage done to the Pennsylvania judiciary was largely self-inflicted. It would have been nice to have the judge at least acknowledge this in the interview.

The fact that that Supreme Court Chief Justice Cappy announced his resignation earlier this week, as opposed to facing a tough retention vote in 2 years, speaks volumes.

Casey Votes To Fund Abortion Group

From the story: Is Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) pro-life? Did he win the votes of pro-life Pennsylvanians last year under false pretenses?

The question arises now after two extremely puzzling votes that Casey took last Thursday on the foreign operations appropriations bill. At 6:53 P.M., he voted for an amendment by Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), to preserve the federal government’s so-called Mexico City policy, which prohibits the granting of federal funds to overseas groups that refer and perform abortions.

Twenty minutes earlier, however, Casey had voted for an amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) that not only overturned the Mexico City policy, but also increased funding for overseas groups that perform and refer abortions. Certainly, Casey had not had a change of heart in the space of 20 minutes. Read more…

Pro-abortion John Kerry to speak at Catholic University

Catholic University of America (CUA) has invited former presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry to speak on environmentalism and the Iraq war this semester despite initial opposition by the office of University Center, Student Programs and Events (UCSPE).

The Tower, the campus paper of Catholic University, said the UCSPE had initially objected to Kerry's appearance, saying there is an "unwritten" campus rule banning political candidates during an election year.

Kerry, who still receives Communion regularly, has 100 per cent pro-abortion voting record according to NARAL Pro-Choice America. During the 2004 presidential debates, Kerry claimed that he was "personally against abortion", but would not "take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who doesn't share that article of faith."

CUA is the national university of the Catholic Church and the only institution of higher learning directly founded by the U.S. bishops. The university has a policy that says the school "is not required to provide a forum for advocates whose values are counter to those of the University or the Roman Catholic Church.

"The phrase "…is not required" is not quite what the US bishops decided at their meeting in Denver during the last presidential election campaigns in 2004. At that time, John Kerry was the centre of a storm of controversy for his militant abortion advocacy and insistence that this in no way affected his status as a Catholic.

Kerry was notorious for baiting Catholic bishops, receiving Holy Communion in front of the cameras at every opportunity.

The controversy spread with US Catholic bishops taking sides between those who defended the Canon Law requiring the refusal of communion to "notorious public" dissenters and those, like Washington's Cardinal McCarrick, who shied away from taking a strong stand. For the first time, Catholic organisations that would traditionally have supported a Democrat Catholic candidate, urged Americans to re-elect their Protestant Republican president.

Nonetheless, the bishops held a meeting to attempt to hammer out some unified response. The bishops produced a statement after their Denver meeting saying that Catholic institutions "must refuse" to give a venue to Catholic speakers who deny important Church teaching, such as that which defends the right to life.

Mark Arnone, chairman of the College Democrats who invited Kerry to speak at CUA, defended the decision saying Kerry "expresses remarkable dedication to the doctrine and principles of Catholic social teaching established in Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical 'Rerum Novarum'" Arnone cited Kerry advocacy "for affordable and accessible health care…minimum wage reform" and the environment. John Paul II and Pope Benedict have strongly emphasized that the life issues are of much higher priority than these other issues.

Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society, a group dedicated to the renewal of Catholic identity in Catholic universities, responded that the situation is "wrong on so many levels". The Tower quotes Reilly saying, "For a Catholic university that accepts Catholic moral teachings as truth to invite or to host an active political candidate who intends to uphold and possibly expand the incidents of abortion in the United States is entirely contrary to its Catholic morals."

The 2004 controversy revealed, to a public glare unprecedented in US Catholic history, the deep rift in the US Church between those who hold fast to the Catholic teachings regarding life and family issues, and those of the so-called "progressive" school popular since the advent of the 1960's sexual revolution.

To express concerns contact the CUA Chancellor:
Archbishop of Washington:
The Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl,
301-853-4500
chancery@adw.org

Pavarotti returns to the Catholic faith before dying

Luciano Pavarotti, the world renowned tenor was laid to rest in Modena’s cathedral with a grand funeral which paid tribute to the opera legend and gave witness to his return to the Catholic faith.

The diocese had received criticisms that it had gone overboard in honoring a remarried divorcé. But Pavarotti's parish priest, Fr. Remo Sartori, said the twice-married singer had been reconciled with the Catholic faith, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. Pavarotti had received the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick before losing his battle against pancreatic cancer.

CNA

September 11, 1683

In 1683, over 138,000 Muslim Ottoman Turks surrounded Vienna, Austria.

For two months they starved the 11,000 Hapsburg-Austrian defenders.
Sultan Mehmed IV sent a message to the Austrian King, Leopold I: "Await us in your residence...so we can decapitate you."

Secretly, the Polish King, Jan Sobieski, gathered 80,000 Polish, Austrian and German troops and on SEPTEMBER 11, 1683, led a surprise attack causing the Turks to flee in confusion.
Upon entering the abandonded Turkish tents, there were found bags of beans - coffee beans - revealing how the Turks could fight day and night. Shortly after was opened the first Vienna coffeehouse and coffee subsequently spread across Europe.

Whereas Jan Sobieski was looked upon as the "Savior of Western Civilization" from Muslim Turks, the humiliated Muslim army beheaded their general, Mustafa Pasha, and sent his head back to Sultan Mehmed IV in a velvet bag.

President Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his 1916 book, "Fear God and Take Your Own Part":
"From the hammer of Charles Martel to the sword of Jan Sobieski, Christianity owed its safety in Europe to the fact it...could and would fight as well as the Mohammedan aggressor."

Violent attacks against others are nothing new in the Muslim mind. Those attacks have never prevailed in converting the world to Islam. As thoughout history, we must stand firm against this latest attempt.

Renewing Our Resolve

Amid flags at half-mast and a capital city shrouded in clouds, the sixth anniversary of September 11, 2001 arrived quietly in a nation still divided over the war it provoked.
From Ground Zero to the broken ring of the Pentagon, we can't help but remember how many of the fallen were heroes that day. They were men and women on planes, in skyscrapers, charging up stairwells, and digging through rubble. As diverse as they were, the victims had one thing in common--they were all patriots. Today, that of selfless determination is still very much alive in our brave troops overseas. Despite months of bickering and distractions at home, our soldiers have carried out their mission valiantly, many of them making the ultimate sacrifice while their fellow citizens, speaking from the safety and comfort they provide, feel free to question what these soldiers are giving their lives for.

While the news is trained on the war, few seem to remember why we're fighting it, not for Iraq but for the liberty Americans so quickly take for granted. Many in this country have forgotten that the best way to honor those who died on September 11, and since, is by upholding the commitment to do everything we can to keep it from happening again. Abandoning the war would be to abandon America's identity.

Al-Queda's long-term goal is to convert Americans and other Westerners to its extreme version of Islam. This is the ultimate struggle between good and evil, the long-standing battle for our ideals of faith, family, and freedom. In the end, this war is not only a military conflict, but a spiritual one. And the entire Western world hangs in the balance.

Let's pray, six years later, that as the stone walls of the Pentagon have been rebuilt and construction is under way at the site of the World Trade Center, so too are we rebuilding our resolve that those who have died in our nation's service will be honored not just in memorial remembrances but in victory over tyranny.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ACCUSED OF CHEATING

From the story: NFL security officials confiscated a camera and videotape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on the New England sidelines when it was suspected he was recording the Jets' defensive signals. Sources say the visual evidence confirmed the suspicion.

ESPN

MOST BELIEVE FOUNDERS INTENDED CHRISTIAN NATION

And 58 percent say teachers should be allowed to lead prayer. The story notes “the survey…is conducted annually by the First Amendment Center, a non-partisan educational group.” But later: Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, says the findings are particularly troubling during a week when the top diplomat in Iraq gave a report to Congress on progress toward achieving democracy there. "Americans are dying to create a secular democracy in Iraq, and simultaneously a growing number of people want to see a Christian state" here, he says. And even later in the story: The "scariest" number, in Haynes' opinion, is that only 56% agree that freedom of religion applies to all groups "regardless of how extreme their beliefs are." That's down from 72% in 2000. More than one in four say constitutional protection of religion does not apply to "extreme" groups.

USA Today

US CONSIDERS PLANS TO ATTACK IRAN

From the story: Political and military officers, as well as weapons of mass destruction specialists at the State Department, are now advising Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the diplomatic approach favored by Burns has failed and the administration must actively prepare for military intervention of some kind. An interesting moment in the story: The Germans voiced concern about the damaging effects any further sanctions on Iran would have on the German economy — and also, according to diplomats from other countries, gave the distinct impression that they would privately welcome, while publicly protesting, an American bombing campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities.

FOX News

HOLLYWOOD CHURNS OUT ANOTHER ANTI-MILITARY MOVIE

Star Tommy Lee Jones explains in the interview "There are many questions raised by the movie, but they all boil down to one big question, and that's the big question in front of everybody in the country. It's inescapable. It makes no sense to talk around it or avoid talking about it …That question is: To what extent are you engaged in a fraudulent war, you as an American citizen?"

USA Today

BUSH TO BACK MILITARY PROPOSAL OF PULLBACK

The story notes “Top Democrats vowed to push for quicker and deeper cuts.” (USA Today) From the presidential candidates. (Washington Post)

Number of Schools Using Landmark Public School Textbook, 'The Bible and Its Influence,' Has Doubled in the Second Year

The acclaimed new public high school textbook, "The Bible and Its Influence," ( www.bibleliteracy.org) praised in TIME magazine's April 2nd cover story, has this fall--its second school year available--doubled the number of schools using the course to 160 schools in 34 states.

"This dramatic growth is due in part to several positive developments," said Chuck Stetson, chairman of the Bible Literacy Project, which publishes the textbook. Stetson cited the recent TIME magazine cover story "Why We Should Teach the Bible in Public Schools," in which TIME reporter David Van Biema writes "[Public school Bible electives] should have a strong accompanying textbook on the model of 'The Bible and Its Influence.'"

The Winter 2007 "Baylor Law Review" concludes that "The Bible and Its Influence" "clearly conforms to constitutional standards" and recommended its adoption by public schools. "The Bible and Its Influence" has been endorsed by leaders from the First Amendment Center, the American Jewish Congress, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the Catholic Biblical Association. Prior to publication, the textbook was reviewed by 40 scholars of law, English literature, and secondary education, representing the Catholic, Jewish, Evangelical, mainline Protestant, and Orthodox faiths.

"In addition, legislation supporting high school academic Bible electives passed in Georgia in 2006 and in Texas and South Carolina in June 2007, has also created considerable statewide interest," said Stetson. "This is only the start of what will be a major new trend across the nation," commented Stetson, who noted research funded by the John Templeton Foundation that only 8 percent of schools were offering academic, non -devotional courses on the Bible, although it has always been legal. The goal of the Bible Literacy Project is to provide the safeguards and curriculum with a goal that 80 percent of the nation's high schools will offer a constitutionally sound Bible elective, respectful of students of all faiths (and none).

9/11


Pa. residents should renew 'Do Not Call' registrations

Pennsylvanians should renew their registration on the state's Do Not Call list by Sept. 15, according to a news release from Attorney General Tom Corbett. Read More

In event of biological weapons attack, could region take influx?

Six years after the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, Pennsylvania emergency managers are still debating how they would handle the westward stream of people if terrorists attack New York City with biological weapons, a state counterterrorism official told a congressional panel Monday in Bethlehem. Read More

VEGAN TEACHER REFUSES TO RETURN UNTIL MILK IS REMOVED

To top that off, the story notes, he wants “the McHenry County state's attorney to file child-endangerment charges against the school district because the school continues to promote milk and other animal products as part of a healthy diet.”

Chicago Tribune

CONGRESS LIKELY TO CUT FUNDING TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Noting that the forum is dominated by human rights abusers.

Washington Times

GOP RACE TIGHTENS

Regarding the CBS/NYT Poll: Rudy Giuliani, after holding the front-runner spot in the race for the Republican presidential nomination for months, has seen his lead nearly evaporate with the entry of former senator and TV star Fred Thompson into the race. (CBS News)

Rasmussen has Thompson on top. (Rasmussen)

WIRETAPS STOPPED TERROR ATTACKS

From the story: The US director of intelligence has said wiretaps played a significant role in stopping bomb attacks by suspected Islamists in Germany last week.

BBC

PETRAEUS REPORTS PROGRESS

From the story: "I think an enormous payoff is the fact that we may be able to defeat al Qaeda. Al Qaeda central, if you will, does regard Iraq as the central front in its War on Terror," Petraeus said. "The converse of that would be a, really, a huge lift for al Qaeda, and really, a shot of adrenaline to them." (FOX News)

From another story: The top U.S. general in Iraq outlined plans Monday for the withdrawal of 30,000 troops by next summer, drawing praise from the White House but a chilly reception from anti-war Democrats. (AP)

rom the WSJ on the attacks on Petraeus: Can this really be the new standard of political rhetoric across the Democratic Party? There was a time when the party's institutional elites, such as the Times, would have pulled it back from reducing politics to all or nothing. They would have blown the whistle on such accusations. Now they are leading the charge. (WSJ)

Peters Creek Presbyterians Vote To Leave Denomination

Post Gazette: Peters Creek Presbyterian Church voted 273-86 [on Sunday] to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA ) for the more theologically conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

The vote -- which included two abstentions -- represented more than half the church's full membership of 595 and just over 75 percent of the 361 ballots cast. Those percentages would meet the standard that Washington Presbytery set in July to consider allowing churches that want to move to the other denomination to do so along with their property. Read more...

The membership losses within the Presbyterian Church (USA) have accelerated to 13 members per hour. At this rate, no members will be left in 50 years.

One source of frustration for many of us within the denomination is the leftist political advocacy done by our Washington Office. Between fighting against the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act and other pro-family measures, the Washington Office has proven to be one of the more controversial entities within the PC (USA). Recently, the director of the Washington Office has announced that she is resigning her position to join the World Council of Churches. Perhaps this thorn in the side will get better.

IRS Clears Dobson Over Non-Profit Rules Allegations

CNSNews: After an extensive audit, the Internal Revenue Service has exonerated Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson of accusations from liberal watchdog groups that he violated his organization's non-profit status by endorsing GOP candidates -- including President Bush -- during the 2004 election.

During 2004, Dobson -- an influential child psychologist -- founded a political affiliate to his Colorado Springs-based organization called Focus on the Family Action. He endorsed social conservatives who were Republican candidates for Congress, and he supported Bush's re-election - the first time Dobson had endorsed a candidate for president. Read more..

Boxer Drops the Gloves on Abortion

As expected, the Senate votes over the 2008 Foreign Operations spending bill turned into an abortion showdown over the inclusion of the Mexico City policy. Although the policy--which bars the U.S. from funding any organization that performs or promotes overseas abortion--dates back to the Reagan years, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) led the charge to abolish it.

In the end, her efforts to strip the Mexico City policy from the bill prevailed by a 53-41 vote. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kans.) responded quickly with an amendment of his own to strike the language, but it failed by the same 12-vote margin. Unfortunately, Boxer's amendment is considered even more extreme than the House version.

In keeping with his promise, President Bush reminded Senate liberals that theirs is not the final word on the Mexico City policy. The White House issued a statement renewing the President's vow to veto any bill that weakens America's laws on abortion. Thank you President Bush for consistently putting innocent human life first--even when it means postponing legislation that his administration wants passed.

Running on Polls or Walking by Faith?

Although the media seem intent on downplaying the influence of social conservatives in the upcoming election, a recent poll by Fabrizio McLaughlin Associates points to just how misled those assumptions are.

The study, "An Elephant Looks in the Mirror 10 Years Later," discussions the transformation of the Republican Party in the last 10 years and makes the statistical case that not only do values issues play a key role in the GOP platform, but values voters make up 51% of the party.

Twenty-seven percent, by their classification, are "focused" on moral issues--and another 24%, the "Moralists," have a "laser-like focus" on moral issues. The reality is, a majority of the GOP are values voters. For candidates to ignore these social issues is for them to ignore the single-largest group in the Republican Party. They do so at their own risk.

The reason Rudy Giuliani (R) continues to do well in polling data is that most Americans don't know where he stands on these issues. However, where voters perceive him to stand in his faith is another survey altogether.

The Pew Forum's latest poll found that the statistical front-runners in both parties, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Rudy Giuliani (R), are both considered the "least religious" by those surveyed. On the other hand, Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is considered "very religious" by 46%, followed by Sen. John McCain (R) at 18%. Interestingly, the poll didn't account for all candidates, which excludes those whom many would view as the most religious, including Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kans.) and Gov. Mike Huckabee (R). In the end, though, most voters would agree that how important the candidates' faith seems to be isn't half as important as how closely they live by it.